Cristina Wissenbach is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, University of São Paulo, Brazil. She has been taught African History (14th-19th centuries) and History of Africans in Diaspora, since 2003. Author of works on slavery in São Paulo and on religious practices in the pos-slavery period. Her research and  writing focus on issues related to trade networks and power structures in Central Africa in the 19th century. The current proposal ́s theme is part of her studies on literacy and writing among the subaltern groups in Brazilian society.